To ask someone to do something that is directly detrimental to their own vital interests, making success impossible; a futile endeavor due to a fundamental conflict of interest.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
Legend has it that during the Zhou Dynasty, there was a person who particularly enjoyed wearing fur coats and eating exquisite food.
He "wished to make a thousand-gold fur coat and consulted with a fox for its hide." The fox immediately sounded an alarm and fled into the deep mountains.
He also "desired to prepare a splendid lamb feast and consulted with a sheep for its meat." The sheep called its companions, and together they hid in the dense forest.
As a result, he failed to make a single fur coat and couldn't host the lamb sacrificial feast.